Alex Valdovinos, who lives at a house in the 3300 block of 203rd Street Southwest, was arrested Saturday at his residence after witnesses identified him as the gunman who fired an AR-15 assault-style rifle from his porch, killing DeMarcus Bell, 36, of Tacoma, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff and Medical Examiner’s offices.

Parking has become a contentious issue on the quiet street in recent months, with neighbors complaining that the occupants and visitors to Valdovinos’ residence took up multiple parking spaces, says a probable-cause statement outlining the sheriff’s case against Valdovinos.

According to the statement:

Around 11 p.m. Saturday, two men associated with a neighboring house went to Valdovinos’ house and loudly complained about a vehicle that had been parked in the street. Two groups of men squared off in a large, physical fight in front of Valdovinos’ house and one man fell off the porch and broke his leg. He was pulled back inside the house and that’s when Valdovinos is accused of firing two rounds into the air, breaking up the fight, according to the statement.

As the men, including Bell, were returning to the neighboring house, the statement says Valdovinos fired off three or four more shots. Bell was struck in the back of the head and collapsed in the driveway. He died at the scene.

Advertising

Detectives assigned to the sheriff’s major crimes unit found six, 22-caliber casings in the street west of Valdovinos’ house, which is the approximate trajectory to where Bell was found at the end of the driveway, the statement says. Detectives estimated that Bell was shot from 150 feet away.

Though it does not appear that Valdovinos has any criminal convictions, the probable-cause statement says Valdovinos, who was driving with a suspended license, was pulled over in Moses Lake for speeding on March 15. The trooper who pulled Valdovinos over spotted a 9-mm handgun inside the vehicle and seized it as evidence, the statement says.

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies also responded to a report of a shooting inside Valdovinos’ house on March 10, but the victim was uncooperative and wouldn’t say who shot him, according to the statement. Another person inside the house didn’t witness the shooting but later told a deputy he saw Valdovinos hide his gun before police arrived, the statement says.

“The common theme of these contacts is Valdovinos has access to firearms and even as one is seized from him, he has further access to firearms,” says the statement.

The Seattle Times occasionally closes comments on particularly sensitive stories. If you would like to share your thoughts or experiences in relation to this story, please email the reporter or submit a letter to be considered for publication in our Opinion section. You can read more about our community policies here.